C4 admits 'Million Pound Drop' error

Channel 4 has handed another chance to a couple who lost £325,000 on The Million Pound Drop after fact checkers gave the wrong answer to a question about Doctor Who.

Last Friday, husband and wife Johnny and Dee were asked to name the longest-serving actor to play Doctor Who from a choice of Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, David Tennant and Christopher Eccleston.

After splitting their remaining £650,000 between McCoy and McGann, the couple lost everything when the answer was revealed to be Tennant.

However, eagle-eyed viewers contacted the Million Pound Drop team to point out that the question was in fact misleading.

Tennant portrayed the Doctor for the longest uninterrupted stint between 2005 and 2009, but McCoy played the Time Lord for two years between 1987 and 1989, and appeared in the 1996 TV film.

As no-one else played the character between those two points, McCoy takes the title as the longest-reigning Doctor.

Channel 4 has now accepted the error and confirmed that Johnny and Dee will get a second chance on this weekend's Million Pound Drop Live.

"Having spoken to the Doctor Who production team at the BBC, the Million Pound Drop producers have confirmed that the correct answer to this question was Sylvester McCoy and not David Tennant as shown on the broadcast on November 5. This is due to Sylvester McCoy's final appearance in a 1996 TV movie," said a Channel 4 spokesperson.

"We apologize for this oversight and as a result, the contestants, Johnny and Dee, will return to the show to finish the game this Friday or Saturday at 10pm on Channel 4 with the £325,000 they placed on McCoy."